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Regional This Weekend
The regular season has come to a close for Region IX and the postseason picture has become clear for the Northwest College basketball teams.
The Trapper men ended the season on a three-game win streak to finish with a 7-9 conference record, which tied them with Miles Community College and Western Wyoming.
Tiebreakers dropped Northwest to sixth place in the North sub-region and the Trappers will face the Laramie County (9-7 in the South) at 6 p.m Sunday in Sterling, Colo.
Northwest took advantage of its home court during the final two games.
Gabe Solarin’s 20 points and Franklin Uzonwanne’s 18 points and nine rebounds led the men to a 72-69 win over Western Wyoming on Saturday.
Lawrence Fejokwu had 24 points and eight rebounds and Colin May added 16 points and five boards in a Feb. 19 victory over Little Big Horn.
Gillette (15-1), Sheridan (13-3) and Casper (11-5) finished as the top three seeds in the North.
The women’s team split its final two games and finished fourth in the North.
A win Feb. 19 over Little Big Horn put the Trappers in control of their own destiny after Sheridan lost to Miles that same night.
Leanne Winterholler had a career shooting night. The sophomore hit 7-of-11 3-pointers to score 25 points in the Trappers’ win.
Point guard Mandee Christensen had her first career double-double with 10 points and 10 assists.
A Northwest win over Western Wyoming would clinch fourth place, but an 83-76 loss left the Trappers (9-7 in conference) to a tie for fourth. Fortunately for the Trappers, Sheridan lost 73-69 to Central Wyoming and finished 8-8 in the North, dropping them to fifth place.
Sophomore Imari Simpson scored 15 points and grabbed five rebounds, Christensen added 15 points, Dana Bjorhus had 14 and Hatti Snyder scored 10.
Dawson Community College, Western Wyoming and Casper College each finished at 12-4 in the North. The results of tiebreakers have not yet been announced.
The Trappers will take on Northeastern Junior College (6-6 in the South) in the first round on Saturday. Full game stories and a tournament preview will publish in Thursday’s Tribune.